Summary: Avitabile v. Beach is a federal Second Amendment civil rights lawsuit challenging the State of New York’s ban on Tasers and other nonlethal self-defense weapons. Individual plaintiff Matthew Avitabile is the mayor of Middleburgh, New York and would like to buy and keep a Taser for self-defense. But New York Penal Law § 265.01 states that “A person is guilty of criminal possession of a weapon” if “He or she possesses any….electronic dart gun” or “electronic stun gun,” making the crime punishable as a misdemeanor.

Plaintiffs: Matthew Avitabile (supported by Firearms Policy Coalition, Firearms Policy Foundation)

Defendants: State of New York Superintendent of the New York State Police Lt. Col. George Beach; District Attorney of Schoharie County, New York James Sacket

Litigation Counsel: Stephen Stamboulieh,Stamboulieh Law, PLLC; Alan Beck, Law Office of Alan Beck

Consulting Counsel: Prof. Eugene Volokh, UCLA Law; Stephen Duvernay, Benbrook Law Group

Docket: N.D. NY case no. 1:16-cv-01447 | CourtListener Docket

Important Case Filings:

Related Press Releases:

2016-12-6: BREAKING: FPC, FPF, and Mayor of Middleburgh Sue Gov. Andrew Cuomo, New York Over Ban on Tasers in New Second Amendment Legal Challenge